I have fallen between the cracks and landed in the spaces where love never fails…

Letting Go

I used to carry the below passage around with me many years ago.
I received it at a 12 step meeting; it’s author read as anonymous.
Since then some circles have attributed Louise Hay as the author.

It’s no accident that there is tremendous relief in the sweet surrender
of letting go. So many times when I have done this, just turned over
what ever is troubling me to the Universe – answers, winks and nods
from the Universe seem to come flooding in. The letting go is its own
reward though, whether or not anything changes.

Love, Bethie

LETTING GO

To “let go” doesn’t mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for
someone else.

To “let go” is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization I can’t
control another.

To “let go” is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural
consequences.

To “let go” is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is
not in my hands.

To “let go” is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make
the most of myself.

To “let go” is not to care for, but to care about.

To “let go” is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To “let go” is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human
being.

To “let go” is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,
but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To “let go” is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face
reality.

To “let go” is not to deny, but to accept.

To “let go” is not to nag, scold, or argue, but instead to search
out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To “let go” is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take
each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To “let go” is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the
future.

To “let go” is to fear less and love more.

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2 Responses

Just FYI… Louise Hay did not write this poem (letting go). I am the author, and I recently had to send a request to her (with copyright info) to stop posting it and stop claiming authorship of the poem. It was removed from her websites within the last couple weeks.

I wrote this over 25yrs ago. I’m sure it went public because I entered poems into writing magazine contests, and displayed poems at local colleges when they had various writing and poetry expos. It apparently circulated pre-internet as anonymous or author unknown for many years. It was used in at least two books (1989 & 1990) and is now on many websites. When I discovered it on the internet, it was credited to the authors of those two books… so I bought the books, and even they listed the poem as anonymous. I’m guessing people just associated the poem to the author of the book.

I never had a problem with it being listed to anonymous or unknown… I was just amazed how much this poem had spread. I have been contacted by individuals seeking permission to use it (they tracked me down)… and I always give verbal or email permission. I’m not that formal about it, I don’t expect to make money from it. Most people seeking permission to use it are from grief or divorce counseling groups, and one person worked for a university that conducted court ordered divorce-parenting classes (wanted to use the poem in the curriculum).

I just found it a little offensive that Louise had *taken* credit for it, when 95% of the online postings of my poem on the internet still show it as anonymous. I usually stay quiet about it, I don’t really want the attention. I’m just pleased that something I wrote had (has) such a positive influence in *some* people’s lives.

I just thought you should know. You don’t have to list my name as the author (only a few websites do). You don’t have to keep this comment on your website either.